Looking for My Own Life
by GirlWaterShaman
Summary: How Luke first met Merii...rated T just to be safe. Please R&R!


Dedication: This fic is for anyone who ever reviewed my writing, either as GirlWaterShaman or on my old account SailorSoul2-which is still on here!

A/N: If you haven't read the latest chapter of my oneshot series, Luke used to be called Adam before Merii took him in. That's all you really need to know.

Looking for My Own Life

By Marikunin/GirlWaterShaman

The young Riolu landed with a hard thump on the grass. His fed-up trainer, a young man by the name of Jinli, had just released Adam from his Pokeball for the final time.

"Go be worthless somewhere else! Don't bother me anymore!"

Despite the tears that welled up in his large eyes, the young Riolu had no choice but to obey his Trainer-even though said trainer was releasing him. His sense of honor and loyalty to the man made him. Adam sniffled, and watched as his owner sped away in his black convertible. He coughed as the exhaust fumes from the moving vehicle got into his lungs. Due to his young age, the Riolu was still quite sensitive to polluted air- more so than other Pokemon. Still coughing a bit, Adam began to walk in the other direction, tears rolling down his cheeks.

Silent for a long time after this, Adam walked on. It seemed to be days, but he knew that it was probably shorter. By this time, his usually bright blue fur was coated with mud. A large bloody gash in his left arm was still sore from an attack from an agitated Beedrill. If he knew more about his body, Adam would've known that there were several cuts and abrasions underneath his fur from the fall when he'd fallen down a long hill due to tripping and then falling over a rock. In fact, the foot he smashed against the rock was still hurting, but he didn't know why.

As it began to rain heavily, the poor Riolu was tearing himself up inside over how he 'failed' to please his so-called trainer. Even though the Pokemon trained vigorously from dawn to dusk to try and get stronger. But Jinli didn't know this. He hardly knew anything about the Riolu, even though he claimed to be an expert on Pokemon.

"I…tried to be strong…for Sir Jinli…"

As he whispered this, his strong instinct for duty and obedience to their Trainers caused a strong throbbing pain to explode in his chest, and he gasped. Falling to the ground on his knees, he winced as his still tender cuts reopened and blood began dripping on the soil. Adam put a shaking paw to his head, which was pounding heavily.

"I'm…sorry…I…tried…"

Then he saw only blackness.

A few hours later, the sound of bicycle tires going across the road filled the area. Merii was riding happily on her Mach Bike. Her Marshtomp Jayden was running by her side-he hated being in his Pokeball unless he had to. The duo paced on like this; at least until Merii noticed a flash of bright blue amongst a large pile of what seemed to be mud.

"Eh…?"

Stopping her bicycle, the young 13-year-old got off and walked to the pile, beckoning Jayden over.

"What is it Merii?"  
"I don't really know, actually. It's just….I don't know."

The teen stooped down and gently touched the patch of blue, and shrieked loudly when the large pile moved.

"Crap, it's a Pokemon! Jayden, use a light water gun!"  
"Right!"  
Rearing back his head, the Marshtomp released a water gun onto the pile, being careful to not make it too powerful. Slowly, the battered form of a Riolu appeared.

"Oh my God….who could do something like this?"

Merii looked down, saddened.

"There are…humans in this world…that…don't treat their Pokemon kindly. I'll just put it at that."

Jayden nodded. Quietly, he picked up the Riolu, its small size making it easy for him to carry it. Merii took a closer glance and knew immediately that the small Pokemon needed professional medical attention. She turned to her Marshtomp.

"Jayden, I know you don't like it, but you have to go into your Pokeball for this. We'll get to the Center faster that way."  
Knowing better than to argue, the Marshtomp handed the Riolu to his Trainer who placed it into her bicycle's front basket. Then she held out the rarely-used Pokeball and recalled Jayden into it. Getting back onto her bike, the girl sped as fast as she could to the Pokemon Center.

Nurse Joy was just closing up for the night when she heard the sound of bicycle tires speeding towards her.

"Huh?"  
The pink-haired woman looked up to see a young Trainer, around 12 or 13 by her estimates, racing towards her.

"I'm sorry miss; we're closing up for the night."

"I have an emergency!"  
Immediately, the nurse grew attentive.

"What's wrong?"  
The girl went to her bicycle and pulled out a small, limp Riolu. Joy gasped. This Pokemon was one of the worse cases she had ever seen! Running to the doors of the Center, she threw them open.

"Chansey! We have an emergency! Hurry!"  
"Chansey! Chansey!"  
The round Pokemon came out with a stretcher and saw the little Riolu. A look of worry even seemed to go through its usually cheerful demeanor. Nurse Joy turned to the trainer.

"Come with me. There are forms I'll need you to fill out. But tell me what happened."  
"Nurse, I found this Riolu on the side of the road," they were rushing through the hallways of the Center now towards the operating room, "And even though I'm learning a bit about Pokemon medicine, I knew that this one was serious."  
The woman nodded.

"You have good eyes. Listen, I need to head into the operating room. I have some forms for you to fill out, since there's no trainer in sight. Hopefully, the Pokemon will be able to tell us what happened when he wakes up."  
"He?"  
She nodded.

"Yes, the Riolu is a male."  
Not bothering to ask how she was able to check the Pokemon's gender without even giving him a physical, Merii took the papers and pencil from Nurse Joy and sat down on the bench, the former starting to write on the forms, while the latter headed into the operating room.

Several hours later, Merii and Jayden, as well as the rest of her Pokemon were camped out on the bench. The finished forms were on the counter nearby. All of them except for Merii was asleep; Jayden having stayed up as long as possible, but gave in to weariness around 2. Hearing the sound of a door opening, the teen looked up. Nurse Joy was standing there looking worn out, but a smile was on her face. The greatest sense of relief rushed through Merii as she smiled back and stood up.

"How is he?"  
"He'll survive. But from what he told me," Joy chuckled at the girl's eager face, "He's asleep now. But…," she turned serious. "I have a strong suspicion that he was abused."  
Merii's face fell, and tears began to brim up.

"That's awful…"  
Joy nodded and gave the girl a hug.

"I know. Here, I'll take you to see him. But it was a miracle that you found him when you did. If it was only a few minutes more, he probably wouldn't have made it."

Suppressing a shudder, Merii followed the nurse to the viewing room. Approaching the small window, her eyes softened. The little Riolu was fast asleep, bandages covering his form. Only half of his face and the right side of his chest were uncovered. He looked a lot like a mummy.

"How…how extensive were his injuries?"  
The nurse sighed.

"Quiet serious. There were dozens of bruises and abrasions under his fur. Plus, that large gash in his left arm had Beedrill venom in it, which makes me think he must've run into some trouble before he fainted.

"Also, he had a broken foot. I think he probably hit or kicked something very heavy with it. Needless to say, he will have to be here for at least a week before I discharge him."  
Merii quietly nodded, a few tears going down her cheeks. She wiped her eyes.

"What happens when you discharge him?"  
Joy looked at the girl and smiled.

"I thought that you would like him, actually."  
Merii blinked, and then beamed.

"You would really do that? I'd love a Riolu! Plus, I kinda feel responsible for him since I found him."

The nurse nodded.

"As long as the little guy doesn't mind, I think that you two would make a great team. He seems to be very loyal and kind."  
The trainer squealed in delight and ran to wake up Jayden and her other Pokemon, telling them about the possible new arrival.

A few hours later as the sun poured in through the Center's windows, Adam awoke. His vision was blurry and he groaned.

"Don't force yourself. Wake up on your own time, okay?"  
"O….okay…," he murmured. The Riolu heard a small gasp of surprise and he blinked several times.

"Who…?"  
Then he wondered if he was dead. The human looking at him couldn't possibly be on Earth. This girl looked at him with a wide smile, her deep brown eyes warm and caring. Adam had never been looked at in this way before.

"Am…I…dead?"

Laughter. It was like music.

"No, you're in a Pokemon Center, off of Route 115. I found you in a muddy hole about a mile away from here. Nurse Joy saved your life."

Adam blinked more. Then he noticed that he was in a white room. The angelic girl was sitting next to him-this was when he realized that he was in a small bed-in a chair. In the corner, a Marshtomp was grinning widely at him.

"Nice to see you're awake. I'm Jayden, and this is my Trainer, Merii."  
"…Jay…den…and….Lady…Merii?"  
Merii blushed.

"Um, you don't have to call me Lady."  
Adam cocked his head to the side.  
"But…you saved me. So…why wouldn't I call you Lady?"

A shy, small smile appeared on Merii's face, her blush deepening.

"Um….what's your name? I don't wanna keep calling you Riolu all the time."  
"…Adam. That's…what my…old trainer named me."  
At this Merii and Jayden looked sad.

"Adam…," Merii said, "Your trainer…isn't coming back."  
"…I know."  
Slowly, the sound of the ticking clock filled the room.

Then Jayden stood up, folding his fins.

"Hey, if you don't have a trainer anymore, then you gotta have a new name!"  
Merii and Adam blinked.

"A…new name?"  
Jayden nodded in determination.

"Yeah. Merii wants to be your trainer," Adam brightened up at this, "And if you have her as a trainer, then we gotta give you a new nickname that we can call you by!"  
Not really used to this type of bravado, Adam still found that he rather enjoyed it.

"O-okay…"  
So, the trio sat there, working on a new name for the Riolu. Joy smiled as she walked past their room. She had a feeling that they would be together for life.

A few weeks later, Luke walked out of the Pokemon Center with Merii and Jayden, a large smile on his face. Something new had been born in him. He didn't know exactly what, but whenever he looked at his trainer or at Jayden or at any other of Merii's Pokemon, the Riolu felt a surge of warmth go through him. He just assumed that it was that beautiful feeling called happiness.


End file.
